This blog is dedicated to my Best friend my little brother Trevor who passed away in a tragic car accident on October 27th 2009. His death gave me the courage I needed to pursue my passion and start running.

Monday, June 3, 2013

An Update on Running

I feel compelled to visit my little corner of the internet today for a quick update. The thing I love about blogging is that I am not forced to do it and yet I always know I have it to fall back on when I feel the urge to write, document, or journal my simple little life. I know not many people read about my shenanigans but I do enjoy having a reference to come back to. And to be completely honest sometimes it just feels nice to purge out my feelings and write.

I've been running quite a bit and enjoying everything else that life has to offer. I've ran a few decent races, met some incredible people, and even traveled to some pretty cool places.

In the middle of May I had the opportunity to travel to Rochester, MN and then to Fargo, ND to pace the Fargo half marathon. Of course the trip revolved mostly around hanging out with my bestest friend Julia and sharing in her experience of a new marathon PR. It was such an awesome and unforgettable trip!

On Memorial Day I ran the traditional Run of Remembrance 10k with my sister and other running friends. This is the third year I have participated in this event and I truly look forward to it every year. This day was especially exciting because my sister ran her first 10k! I honestly just could not be more proud of her. She has truly committed to training and it absolutely just brings tears to my eyes to see her accomplish her goals, fall in love with running, work hard, and succeed. This is what it is all about. Running is all about pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone, getting healthy, and finding happiness and balance in life. Gosh I just freaking love it!

And last weekend I traveled to Moab with a group of girls to pace the Thelma & Louise half marathon. Such an incredible experience. This all women race was just what I needed to remind me of why I run. It was just awesome and I met so many inspiring people.

Life has been full lately. Full of running, full of friends and family, full of trials and stress, full of happiness and joy. Life is real, I am real. Running is a part of my life yes. But I am so much more than a runner and running is simply an ingredient that helps balance my life and make the perfect little Rachelle cookie! Humor me if you will. ;)

Speaking of full, I am running a full marathon this weekend. It has been pretty touch and go as to whether I would/should toe the line this Saturday at my favorite Utah Valley Marathon. But as of right now, for better or for worse, I'm throwing myself into the fire and praying my feet don't burn. ;) Here is an insert from my training blog today of how I feel about Saturdays race:

There are so many variables going into the marathon I am attempting to run Saturday. My feet have pretty much plagued me on and off the entire year. Enough so that I actually went to a Doctor for the first time since I was a kid. I do not know if the cortisone shots will help and I won't know until the race. I'm not really willing to experiment until then. My marathon build up has definitely not been perfect....are they ever? But I know I am in great shape and can run well if my feet do not hold me back. I might not be in ideal marathon shape but I'm fit nonetheless. I am going into the race knowing there is a 50% chance I will DNF. I am completely okay with that. I have absolutely no desire to just run another marathon. I want to race and if my body holds me back I'm out. People might think I'm dumb (I admittedly probably am) for even toeing the starting line but it's what I want to do and my heart is telling me to go for it and hold nothing back. The feet situation is unfortunate but it is absolutely no excuse and I will go into the race with confidence and give it 110%.

I promised myself after Provo City half I wouldn't even attempt to race Utah Valley Marathon if I didn't get my feet figured out. I ran Provo City Half well but fought through pretty intolerable foot pain for the last 5 miles. I absolutely do not have my feet figured out but I do have two cortisone shots, a doctor, family, and maybe a few friends that still support my insanity. Above all I've got my brother watching over me and a really big heart that feels compelled to take the risk.

"The miracle isn't that I finished, the miracle is that I had the courage to start."

Good luck with your full. Attempting my first one in September- I've done 4 half marathons, so I guess I'm ready to start training and all that good stuff, but I still don't know. You're right, there are so many variables that it's hard to go into one 100% healthy. But, I hope your foot is okay and you finish the marathon, glad you're not aiming for some time goal or anything (you are super speedy anyway so regardless you will do well).

Congratulations on your new PR and on sharing all these races with your sister, family, and friends.

It's always great when you update but totally cool if you don't because it's good to see a running blogger who has balance compared to a lot of bloggers out there!

love this so much and you are so right in everything you said!! more than anything else i do and always will support you in everything you do! GOOD LUCK LADY!!!!! when in doubt...remember im screaming my head off for you constantly all morning on saturday because...well i wont be able to stop doing so until i hear from you. ;)

Glad to hear from you. It sounds like you've had a full spring so far. I would love to pace a race someday, but I think I better get faster before I can do that. The Thelma and Louise race looks awesome.

I hope your feet hold out for your race. I've had feet issues on and off for a few years and thought I finally had them beat, but I've been having a few issues lately myself. Injuries can just be maddening! I hope you get everything figured out soon so you can just keep getting better and better!

Injuries are so hard. They're so hard to figure out, fight through, recover from, and then avoid all over again. I will swear that getting pregnant was the best thing that happened to me (of course mostly because of Paige!) because I really fell in love with running all over again. Not because of the competition, but because of the health and sheer joy of it all. It's nice to know that I have been one year injury free!

SOOOO- What I'm saying is I think you are smart. If you end up with problems, the smart thing is definitely to quit the marathon if you are fighting the feet. It's not worth it. There will always be more marathons.

You are awesome! I will be pulling and praying for you. Enjoy the race.

WOW Rachelle!! So much I want to tell you. First of all BIG congrats on your new 1/2 PR!!! You're simply an amazing runner & you have a great talent in our sport. You're a wonderful cheerleader for your family & friends. I truly feel that you receive the same, if not more joy from a close friend/family's accomplishment as if it was your own. That's just who you are!! I love that about you. :)

Good luck with UV this weekend. Girl, you know I'll be thinking of you!! I'll say a little prayer for you the a.m. of your race. Whether you finish or not your last quote says it all! That one is one of my favorites!! Enjoy the last few days of taper my friend. :) xo

Enjoyed the reading! Such posts are real motivation for beginners like me. I am also searching through internet for other interesting blogs for athletes, and one of my favourite ones is http://bit.ly/Qh9G8S. They write a lot about proper nutrition, workouts and exercising. They also share various researches in this sphere, which could be interesting and useful for all athletes

About Me

My name is Rachelle Wardle, I am a Fulltime Manager, a fulltime student, and a fulltime runner. Exactly one year ago I lost my best friend, my little brother Trevor to a tragic car accident. After Trevor passed away I picked up running and have never looked back. I am a beginning runner and I am passionate and enthusiastic about running. Come along with me on my running career. I would like to use this blog to share personal experiences, running advice and tips, and stories I hear from fellow runners.